City man gets 43 years to life for shooting 2 years ago

By Ted SieferNew Hampshire Union LeaderJuly 01. 2013 3:07PMMANCHESTER - A city man was sentenced today to 43 1/2 to life in prison for shooting a man in the face nearly two years ago.

James Conkle, 32, was charged with attempted murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Conkle was accused of shooting Casey Margraf on Sept. 17, 2011, in the rear driveway of his home on Valley Street. Margraf was able to identify the shooter as "James" to police as he lay bleeding, cradled in his father's arms.

Despite being shot twice and suffering from a critical brain injury, Margraf recuperated from his wounds and was able to testify at Conkle's trial, which concluded in April.

Conkle was sentenced today at Hillsborough County Superior Court North by Judge Kenneth Brown, who backed the prosecutor's recommended sentence.

At the hearing, Judge Brown noted that the defendant had shown no remorse for the victim, had lied during his trial testimony, and had previously been to prison for shooting another person, according to a press release from the office of Hillsborough County Attorney Patricia LaFrance.

The motive for the shooting was unclear, but Margraf told police shortly after the crime that it was related to a fight he had been having with Conkle's girlfriend.

Deputy Gross mysteriously disappeared when he went to Barre to collect $250 from a man found liable in a civil matter. The next day the deputies car was found in a wooded area east of Barre. The man...